


golden dreams were shiny days

by middlecyclone



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February Trope Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-14 03:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1250278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlecyclone/pseuds/middlecyclone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Context-less AU where Kate is being forced to spin straw into gold for some reason, and America is the mysterious girl who appears out of nowhere to help her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	golden dreams were shiny days

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the fairy tale au square on [Femslash February Trope Bingo](femtropebingo.tumblr.com). Try not to think too hard about when, where, or how the plot of this is happening, because there are no good explanations. I'm so sorry.

Kate looked at the pile of straw. She looked at the spinning wheel. She looked at her hands, callused from archery, that had never touched a spinning wheel in her entire life.

She looked at the floor. She looked at the ceiling. She looked at the pile of straw that stretched all the way from the floor to the ceiling,

“Oh, fuck,” she said loudly, and punched the wall. 

“You’re supposed to lament your fate with grace and dignity,” a voice complained from behind her. “Come on, where’s the gentle weeping?”

Kate whirled around, eyes wide. There was a tall curvy girl standing there, hip cocked, masses of dark wavy hair cascading around her shoulders. “Where the hell did you come from?” Kate demanded.

The girl just started examining her fingernails intently. “To be fair,” she continues as if Kate hadn’t spoken, “if it was me in this situation I would be handling it just about as well as you are, so there’s that.”

“Seriously, what is going on?” Kate asks, staring at the girl’s impossibly short shorts and incredibly patriotic sweater. “Who are you?”

“You’re supposed to spin the straw into gold, right?” the girl drawled. “I’m here to help you.”

Kate laughed drily. “How can you help me? This is literally impossible.”

“Dios mio,” the girl muttered, rolling her eyes, and then stomped her high-top sneaker against the floor. 

Literally all the straw instantaneously turned into gold, and it kind of made a weird whirring noise when it did so. “Personally, I would have rather just punched people until the problems went away, but Mom told me to help you this way, so here you go. Several hundred pounds of solid gold.“

Kate’s jaw dropped open. “What—“

“Now, now,” the girl smirked, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you any manners?”

“Thank you,” Kate said automatically. 

“You’re welcome,” the girl said smugly, then continued, “but I didn’t just do it out of the kindness of my heart. It’s somewhat of a family business, you see. Some sort of payment is required.”

Kate looked down at her purple outfit, with no room for pockets, and frowned. “What do you want, then?”

“Well, jewelry is traditional, but in a pinch I’ll accept something else,” the girl practically purred, taking another step towards Kate until the tips of their shoes were practically touching.

“Something else? Like what?” Kate whispered, voice cracking a little. Her lips were dry, and she licked them unconsciously, blushing a little when she noticed the way the other girl’s eyes tracked the movement.

“I think you know what I mean,” the girl said, and her hands came up to gently cradle Kate’s face before she leaned down ever so slightly and kissed her.

Her lips were warm and dry and they tasted like Chapstick, and Kate had just started to lean into the kiss, to respond slightly, and then the girl was stepping back with a wide crooked grin.

“Bye,” she said, simply, with no other comment and then, with a stomp of her foot, she was gone just as quickly as she appeared.

Kate looked at the pile of gold blocks piled against the wall, looked at the empty space where the girl had just been standing, and groaned.

“Everything is weird,” she complained to the empty room, and then flopped down into the only wooden chair. “So fucking weird.”

* * *

“Everything is terrible,” Kate shouted to the empty room, and glared at the huge pile of straw, twice as tall as the one from the night before. “I hate everyone.”

“Even me?” the girl said from behind her, appearing suddenly, and Kate shrieked a little in shock. She’s wearing the same impossibly short shorts from the day before, but she’s traded her star-spangled sweater for an equally patriotic t-shirt and a denim jacket with the stars and stripes embellished on it. Kate took a quick moment to wonder where on earth she found these things, before returning to the issue at hand.

“Okay, no, not you,” Kate conceded, when her heart rate had calmed down a little bit. “You’re okay. Especially if you’re going to help me with this … issue again.”

The girl smirked. “I’d be willing to make a deal,” she said, and Kate grinned.

“I have jewelry this time,” she said proudly, pulling at one of her pearl earrings until she worked the post out. “Here.”

The girl just stared at her, frowning slightly. Kate grinned. “The earring is the payment,” she explained. “When I kiss you, it’s going to be because I want to.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “When you kiss me?”

“Yep,” Kate agreed, and then stepped forward, pressing the pearl earring into the girl’s hand before reaching up and kissing her.

Kate’s not exactly short, but she’s not tall, either; the girl isn’t exactly a giant, but she’s got legs that go on for miles, so Kate had to go up on tiptoes in order to wrap her arms around the girl’s neck and press their lips together. She felt the other girl grin into her mouth, smile too wide and happy to kiss properly, their teeth clacking together slightly, before Kate pushed her hands into the girl’s curly hair and the kiss shifted.

The girl’s hands wrapped around Kate’s waist, lifting her up slightly, and Kate melted into the kiss, mouth opening slightly as the girl bit gently at Kate’s lower lip. Kate moaned a little, the noise surprisingly loud in the quiet room.

Her hands in the girl’s hair accidentally knock her knitted hat off, the red beanie falling and hitting Kate in the face. She pulled back and giggled, picking the hat off the ground and setting it gently back on her head. She tucked a stray ringlet behind the girl’s ear, and then pressed one last quick kiss to her lips. 

Then Kate took a step back and folded her arms across her chest, satisfied. The girl was still standing in the exact same place, eyes wide and lips kiss-swollen. She looked slightly dazed. She looked excellent, Kate thought, and smirked.

“So, gold?” Kate prompted, and the girl shook herself slightly.

“Yeah,” she said, “Obviously,” and stomped one leather combat boot against the floor. The weird whirring noise was repeated, and the floorboards creaked at the strain of several hundred pounds of gold appearing essentially out of nowhere.

“Thanks,” Kate said.

“Don’t mention it,” the girl replied, and blew Kate a kiss before disappearing.

Kate just grinned.

* * *

“Seriously? Again?” the girl asked, rolling her eyes.

“It’s the last time,” Kate defended, “I swear. Please?”

She grinned. “Well, yeah, of course I’m gonna help you. But my moms are really mad that I’m not doing things traditionally. They said that if I spun the straw into gold for a third time, I had to play by the rules.”

“Fine,” Kate agreed, “Anything, so long as it keeps me from getting murdered by some crazy king. What do you want?”

“Your firstborn child.”

Kate paused. “Wait, what?”

“Your firstborn child,” the girl repeated. “I told you, it’s traditional.”

“But I don’t want to have kids,” Kate said, aghast. “And if I did, I certainly wouldn’t give you one!”

The girl didn’t look especially bothered by this, however. “Fine,” she agreed. “Traditionally, there is also an escape clause.”

Kate smiled. “Now we’re talking,” she said happily. “What is it?”

“Guess my name.”

Kate stopped, and frowned. “What? Guess your name? I have no idea. Are there any other options?”

“Nope,” the girl said, and smirked. “Come on, though. It’s not hard. Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.”

“Fine!” Kate groaned, and threw her hands up in the air in desperation. “I don’t know. Jennifer.”

“Okay, apparently the first two guesses do count. Try again.”

Kate huffed in frustration. “Gertrude?”

The girl looked offended. “Really? Gertrude? Do I look like a Gertrude to you?”

“Not especially,” Kate admitted, “But I’m desperate, okay. Can I have, like, a hint or something?”

“It’s a pretty obvious name,” the girl said, and tugged pointedly at her t-shirt. Kate looks at her in confusion for a second, and then an idea dawned on her.

“Oh, wait, no, you can’t be serious,” she said, trying and failing to smother a giggle. “America?”

The girl sighed and put her hands on her hips. “If you’re going to laugh—“

“No,” Kate said, still snickering, “I just – you weren’t kidding about it being obvious.”

“God bless,” America said sarcastically, and then smiled warmly at Kate, her face softer than Kate had ever seen it before. “Congratulations,” she told her. “You’re free.”

Kate turned around to see that all the straw had been spun into gold when she hadn’t been watching, and she smiled back. “Thanks,” she said. “You’re the best.”

America just tossed her hair back casually, but Kate can see her blush a little. “I’m literally just doing my job,” she says, “Like. It’s on the chore chart at home.”

Kate laughed. “You have a weird chore chart,” she told America. “So, now that I’m free, any chance you can find time to go out on a date with me? You know. In between washing the dishes and saving teenage girls from being forced to complete impossible tasks by ruthless dictators.”

“I think I can find time,” America said, beaming. “I mean, I’m supposed to take the garbage out at some point, but I think Mom will understand if I’m a little late.”

“Perfect,” Kate grinned. “I’m glad I rate higher than trash in your heart.”

“You’re still below the recycling,” America told her, faux sincere, but Kate just laughed and kissed her.


End file.
